A new gourmet pizza and cocktail bar to open at Manchester Arndale’s Halle Place in just a couple of weeks time.
PizzaLuxe has decided to create “a new home in the North” after being an anchor tenant at the award-winning Leeds Trinity Kitchen since 2013, and has confirmed that it will be opening its flagship restaurant in the new £11 million food quarter of Manchester’s central shopping mall.
The ever-popular pizza operator aims to lead the way in day-to-night dining by serving up gourmet thin-crust pizza, aperitivo, and fresh salads alongside its made-to-order cocktail menu.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CQvZQsOoJ49/
Foodies familiar with PizzaLuxe will know that the brand doesn’t stick to the rules of conventional Neopolitan pizza and instead creates unique Roman-style recipes using a combination of both British and European premium produce that has been carefully sourced to “ensure consistent quality”.
Some of the pizzas to take your pick from on the menu in Manchester include the Palermo – with mushroom, oven-baked ham hock, parmesan and sage – the Lardo, with bacon, brie and baby spinach, Chorizo, with goats cheese, roasted grapes and honey, and the Pollo – with pesto chicken, black olives, artichoke heart and mushroom.
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Vegetarian options include the Verdura, which comes with cherry tomato, asparagus, artichoke heart, red onion and black olive, and the Quattro Formaggi with mozzarella, gorgonzola, feta, halloumi and thyme.
Prices for pizzas will start at just £5.50 – with vegan and gluten free options available.
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Credit: PizzaLuxe
If all of those options didn’t sound mouthwatering enough as it is, PizzaLuxe will also be serving Manchester’s first breakfast pizza – which includes toppings of sausage, bacon, egg, and PizzaLuxe’s own breakfast sauce.
The full breakfast menu will be available every weekend, and also includes baked-to-order breakfast rolls and bowls.
PizzaLuxe is aiming to be the first venue in the UK to combine a quick service restaurant element with a full-service bar serving a wide selection of beers on draught, a curated wine list and countless spirits, alongside a new menu of freshly-made cocktails.
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Food and drinks at PizzaLuxe Manchester can be ordered through an innovative new procedure which lets you scan a QR code at your table, and then be automatically-notified via SMS once your order pizza is ready to collect from the counter.
On top of that, the new restaurant will also launch its coffee kiosk later this month.
‘Coffee + Cake’ will be open daily for passers-by, with a fixed price of £3 for barista coffee and homemade sweet treats.
Credit: PizzaLuxe
“Our aim has always been simple and still remains at the heart of what we do – affordable luxury, exclusively for all,” said Paul Goodale, founder of PizzaLuxe.
“We offer a contemporary, creative execution of simple, classic pizzas and cocktails in a stylish environment, served with a warmth and generosity of spirit.”
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The new Manchester flagship site has been designed by Paul alongside Hudson Rock Design as a bright and airy space that features both counter seating to provide the perfect pit stop for a quick meal on the go, and an in-house bar area which will create the ideal backdrop to punters looking for a casual evening drink.
PizzaLuxe opens in Manchester Arndale’s Halle Centre on Monday 19 July, and you can find more information ahead of launch day here.
Featured Image – PizzaLuxe
Food & Drink
Inside The Black Friar as Salford pub unveils incredible floral display
Daisy Jackson
Spring has really sprung in Salford – legendary pub The Black Friar has just revealed a sensational makeover, with gigantic flowers sprawled across its frontage and a new seasonal menu to go with it.
The historic pub is celebrating the changing of the seasons with both a striking floral installation and a menu that celebrates spring and Salford in equal measure.
Most Mancs will by now have spotted the 4,000 flower-strong installation that now adorns the front of The Black Friar, with bright pink, yellow and purple flowers spilling from a gigantic pink tap.
And all those florals continue inside, with the pub’s Tavern – previously a cosy winter hideaway – now filled with trailing blooms and woodland installations, just off their award-winning garden.
Cheshire-based artist Kelly Louise Chapman is the woman behind this sensational transformation of the much-loved gastropub.
As for the pub’s kitchen, they’ve crafted a new very seasonal and very British menu, with plenty of nods to Black Friar’s Salford roots.
There are dishes like a Boddingtons braised ox cheek (the pub still proudly displays its Boddingtons sign outside), aged beef tartare, butternut squash and ricotta tortellini, and pan-roasted cod fillet.
Spring small plates at The Black Friar pubDelicious spring drinksInside The Tavern at The Black Friar
A popular item from the Valentine’s Day menu – the Cornish crab vol-au-vent – will be sticking around on the spring menu, along with an enhanced grill section that includes a lamb Barnsley chop cooked over coals.
Then for desserts, you’ll be spoilt with a banoffee knickerbocker glory, and passionfruit panna cotta.
And for drinks (because this is a pub, after all), The Black Friar has put together a range of seasonal drinks like a rose sangria sharer, and non-alcoholic sodas like kaffir lime and coconut.
Ben Chaplin, head chef at The Black Friar, said: “This new menu is all about celebrating the best of spring produce.
“We’ve carefully crafted each dish to highlight fresh, seasonal ingredients and bold flavours, adding new depth to our offerings while still delivering the comfort that will always be associated with The Black Friar.
“My top recommendation and personal favourite dish is the Slow-Cooked Boddingtons Braised Ox Cheek.”
Neil Burke, owner of The Black Friar, commented: “We wanted to bring a taste of spring to The Black Friar, inside and out. This floral installation will transform the space and bring sunshine and smiles, whatever the weather!
“My top recommendation on the new menu is the Cumbrian Spiced Lamb Scotch Egg. It’s EXCEPTIONAL.”
To find out more about The Black Friar and to book a table, visit HERE.
You can now get a Pot Noodle as part of your Tesco meal deal
Danny Jones
If you ask us, a big key to a happy life is all about celebrating the little wins as much as possible and in this case, when we heard that you can now get a Pot Noodle as part of your Tesco meal deal, we nearly did a cartwheel.
Are we exaggerating? Only a little bit, to be fair. Is this still kind of a big deal (pardon the pun) for the millions of Brits whose lunchtime meal regularly consists of a Tesco butty, beverage and perhaps some crisps? We think so.
We only heard the joyous news through word of mouth, but it looks as though the rumours are true after being not-so-quietly confirmed via the official Pot Noodle social media channels last week, revealing that you can indeed get your flavour of choice as part of your meal deal.
That really is the headline here, let’s be honest; the fact that you can now get a Pot Noodle – something many people have for their tea or a more than satisfying late-night snack – as the bonus side along with your main item at Tesco it an absolute result.
With meal deal prices having steadily crept up across the nation over recent years, no matter which supermarket, Tesco Extra, Asda Express, Sainsbury’s Local, convenience store and so on you seem to look in, getting an extra bit of value for money like is a big win for those on a quick dinner dash.
This is just like when we figured out you could get a proper Ginsters sausage roll, Cornish pasty or steak/chicken slice as your snack too. Just as buzzing then as we are now.
The brand also recently revealed what the UK’s most popular meal choices were last year, and some of the selections might surprise you.
Once again, it’s all about enjoying the little things, and put it this way, if we’re overreacting, then so are plenty of others.
Now accepting donations so One Drunk Redneck can get to the #UK and experience a #Tesco meal deal. I only need to raise enough for a one way ticket. I'm not too worried about how I'd get back home.
Oh, I probably should take my spouse. Ok, enough for two, one way tickets.
The only slight downside is that right now, as you might have spotted in the Instagram post above, this offer has only been rolled out at select Tescos.
As for those in Greater Manchester, there are just two local shops: the Tesco Extra in Walkden in Salford, as well as the Extra on Huddersfield Road in Bolton; the next closest after that is Warrington.
Nevertheless, you would expect that if the popularity of this new deal takes off – Tesco’s lunchtime package being one of the most popular in Britain – it’s likely that they will expand their plans up and down the country at large.
Speaking on the launch in an official press release, Pot Noodle’s senior brand Madeleine Boulton said: “We know our fans are always looking to get the most bang for their buck, so our move into the Tesco Meal Deal as a side is our way of giving customers the ultimate ‘snackisfaction’ and for some, the perfect hack that will ensure their meal deal sees them through the day.”
Can’t lie, we do rather fancy a Bombay Bad Boy now.
Emily Sergeant -
2nd July 2021 
